Though forced off the ballot, Woodbury remains key to commission race

Political strategies can be made to sound so complex. I'll try to reduce the Clark County Commission District A race to its simplest terms.

Democrat Steve Sisolak, you have a lot of work to do and had better hope the voter turnout surge for the presidential election lifts your Democratic dingy.

Brian Scroggins, stand very close to Bruce Woodbury.

As for you, the term-limited Mr. Woodbury, you're almost gone but definitely not forgotten.

This strategic reality was spelled out in a Aug. 21-23 Magellan Research poll in District A. Scroggins leads Sisolak 40.8 percent to 30.5 percent with a 4-point margin of error. The district has traditionally been a Republican stronghold.

So, Sisolak is the underdog and Scroggins the favorite. But what happens when Woodbury's name is attached to Scroggins and queried to potential voters not sold on the Republican: Although 57.6 percent of those surveyed said it would make no difference, 9.3 percent said it would make them vote for Scroggins and another 23.4 percent said it "might possibly" persuade them.

Magellan's Marvin Longabaugh said the survey's results follow current party registration models. But in what has been projected as a down year for Republicans, the Woodbury factor is a big one.

"People are pretty much divided by party lines, and the race is going to be won or lost with nonpartisans and other parties," Longabaugh says. As for Woodbury's support: "It would turn probably a third of the people who are currently not supporting Scroggins. That's provided the information gets to those people."

I wonder whether a high-profile endorsement is in the works.

CONSERVATIVE CONFAB: The Tuscany Suites Resort will be the unofficial center of the conservative universe Sept. 18-21. It's officially called the Conservative Leadership Conference, which annually brings together conservatives and libertarians from across the country.

The scheduled list of speakers stretches out the front door of the Tuscany. Among them: Libertarian Party presidential candidate Bob Barr, Constitutional Party candidate Chuck Baldwin, and the stealthy and ubiquitous Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform. I also noticed someone named McCain scheduled, but not yet confirmed.

Speaking of Barr, it will be interesting to see how hard the Libertarian hits the Republicans' chosen team. If his recent missive is any indication, the answer is "hard and often."

He writes of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's acceptance speech, which clearly fired up those in attendance at the Republican National Convention: "For example, the words Social Security, Medicare, national debt, the deficit and the Constitution didn't pass her lips. Yet Social Security and Medicare alone face an unfunded liability of more than $100 trillion. The national debt runs $9.5 trillion. The deficit next year will be a half trillion dollars."

McCain would be wise to attend that conference and defend his positions.

ON THE BOULEVARD: Nothing says "NASCAR Weekend" quite like the Three Las Vegas Tenors, who have agreed to sing the national anthem at the nationally televised event Sept. 20 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Who are the tenors? None other than Bill Fayne, Bobby Black, and Teddy Davey. They can sing at least as well as Jeff Gordon drives. ... 96.3 KKLZ's morning mental case Jim Tofte is producing a very funny radio puppet show that everyone but a certain divorcing governor and first lady might enjoy. It's called "The Dawn and Jimmy Show."

BOULEVARD II: Clark County Legal Services celebrates its 50th anniversary Sept. 18 at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve with featured speaker Mark Kennedy Shriver, whose father, Sargent Shriver, founded the Legal Services Corporation. ... Cherlyn Townsend leaves her job as director of Clark County's Department of Juvenile Justice Services Sept. 19 to become executive director of the Texas Youth Commission.

BOULEVARD III: KNPR's "State of Nevada" host Dave Berns has landed a special interview with one of America's great journalists, Daniel Schorr, who worked side by side with Edward R. Murrow and continues to offer incisive analysis on National Public Radio. The interview is set to air at 9 a.m. Wednesday on KNPR-FM, 88.9. Schorr is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. Sept. 11 at Ham Hall on the UNLV campus as part of a lecture series sponsored by the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution.

Have an item for the Bard of the Boulevard? E-mail comments and contributions to Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295.